Water-heating apparatus



NOV. 12, 1929. THATCHER 1,735,554

WATER HEATING APPARATUS Filed March 14. I927 11v VENTOA ALL NTQATQHER Patented Nov. 12, 1929 PATENT OFFICE .IOSEPH ALLYN THA'ICHER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA WATER-HEATING APPARATUS Application filed March 14, 1927. Serial No. 175,062.

This invention relates to a container in which fluid may be heated and from which either heated or unheated fluid may be drawn as desired.

An object of the invention is to provide a fluid container having means adjacent thereto for heating the fluid therein, and having pipes arranged in said container whereby either heated or unheated fluid may be drawn from the container at will.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a sealed container provided with an inlet conduit thereon to supply fluid thereto,

and having means to heat the fluid in said container, and an outlet by which fluid that I has been heated may be Withdrawn from the said container and the place of the withdrawn fluid automatically replaced by additional fluid admitted from the supply inlet.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a closed container having a pair of ports therein,one of said ports being connected to a source of fluid supply whereby the container is automatically kept full of fluid; said port having a controllable valve mounted thereon by means of which fluid may be discharged from the fluid supply line, and the other port in the container having a con trollable valve thereon through which fluid may be discharged from the container.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a fluid container for storing fluids of va- I rious temperatures and provided with means thereon by which the fluid of difl'erent temperaturesmaybedischargedtherefrom, which will be superior in point of simplicity, inexpensiveness of construction, positiveness of operation, and facility and convenience in use and general efliciency.

In this specificaton and the annexed drawings, the invention is illustrated in the form considered to be the best, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such form, because it may be embodied in other forms, and it is also to be understood that in and by the claim following the description, it is desired to cover the invention in whatsoever form it may be embodied.

In the accompanying one sheet of drawings,

Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of an apparatus having a fluid container and fluid discharging means therefor and a fluid heating device in combination therewith, constructed in accordance with my invention.

2 is a plan view of Fig. 1.

In detail, the construction illustrated in the drawings comprises a rack 1, having a plurality of openings 2 in its upper side, in which a plurality of tumblers or fluid containers maybe arranged. The rack 1 is provided with an electrically energized heating coil 3 around one of the tumbler supports 2. The heating coil 3 is energized by a source of electrical current. In ordinary practice a glass tumbler would be inserted in the receptacle 2 around which the heating coil 3 is mounted and by regulating the volume of electricity passing through the coil, the temperature of any fluid contained within the tumbler can be regulated or varied at will. In the practice of dentistry and in other professions and businesses, it is sometimes necessary to have at hand cool or warm fluid which may be conveniently drawn as desired. Dentists in particular utilize water spraying syringes for cleaning the mouth, teeth or cavities within I teeth, of any deleterious matter. The fluid that is discharged from the syringesmay be either cool or warm, according to the desires of the operator. This cold or warm fluid is generally contained in tumblers arranged in close proximity to the operating equipment being utilized.

My invention consists of an apparatus which will do away with the necessity of having glass tumblers to contain the fluid from which the syringes are filled, and in its place, to substitute a substantially closed fluid container. The fluid container that I utilize consists of a closed metal cylinder or casing 4 which is adapted to fit into the cavity in the rack l in which the tumbler would normally be placed. It is obvious that the heating coils 3 around the metal container 4 will heat it in the same fashion as the glass tumbler. In the upper part of the container I provide a T fitting 5, one side of which is fixedly secured to the easing 4, in communication with a pipe 6 that extends into the casing to a point adjacent the bottom thereof. The T fitting 5 is connected by a conduit 7 to a source of fluid supply (not shown). The other outlet 8 on the fitting has a flexible conduit 9 secured thereto,

on the end of which a control valve 10 is mounted. The valve 10, as it is opened or closed by the operator, regulates and controls the volume of fluid that may be discharged from said valve. The fluid from the source of supply will pass through the T fitting 5, and connecting pipe 6 into the interior of the fluid container 4 and fill the interior of the container. The temperature of the water or desirable temperature.

mitted to pass therethrough, 'will' heat the container, andaccordingly, raise the temperature of the fluid contained therein to any According to natural laws, the heating fluid within said container will rise to the top thereof while the cooler fluid at the top of the container will be displaced or circulated toward the bottom of the container. In my apparatus the temperature of the Water at the bottom of the container will approximately correspond with that of the fluid admitted into the said container from the source of supply. Hence the cooler water or fluid will remain at the bottom of the container, while the fluid that has been heated will rise to the upper part of the container.

Upon reference to Figure 1 it will be seen that the container 4 is formed with a relative ly small depending portion, see Figure l,

' around which. the electricallyenergized heatwithin the container.

ing coil 3 is disposed, and an enlarged por 'tion above the same, and that the discharge from the container.

terially warmer than that flowing into the container. No extra valves are employed, and the device is extremely simple and of few parts.

In order to draw 011' the heated or warmed fluid from the interior of the container, I provide an outlet 11 in the top of the container 4 which has a flexible tube 12 connected thereto, and a control valve 13 on the end of said tube, by means of which the warm or heated fluid may be discharged at the will of the operator of the valve. The pressure on the head of water from the source of supply will tend to maintain the same pressure or head on the fluid within the container 4 and within the flexible conduits 9 and 12 through which the 'cool and warm water or fluid is distributed.

As the warm or heated water is drawn ofi from the interior of the container 4, through the valve 13, the supply of fluid within the container is automatically replenished from the source of fluid supply. The warm or heated fluid is not drawn from the container in such a constant volume that during any one opening of the warm water valve the entire volume of heated water would be discharged If the entire volume of heated water should be withdrawn from the container, it would be immediately replaced by the cooler water from the source of supply and the cooler water would then be discharged through the warm water valve 13. The warm water is drawn from the container 4 in such small quantities that the cool water immediately replaces the warm water that has been drawn from the container, and of course the entire volume of fluid within the said container is heated to the desired temperature.

With my apparatus the conventional water spraying syringes are replaced by a pair of valves 10 and 13 from which a supply of either cool or heated water may be drawn at will. In my apparatus the supply of fluid to either cool or warm fluid discharge nozzles is kept up to a constant pressure and it is not necessary to fill either one of the supply pipes after each discharging operation.

Having thus described this invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A device of the character described, comprising a closed container having a broad upper portion and a materially smaller depending portion, the container being provided with a port connected with a source of water supply to automatically fill the container with water under pressure to the full capacity thereof, a conduit leading therefrom through the upper portionof the container and terminating near the bottom of the depending portion, a heating coil embracing said depending portion and in contact with the bottom of the upper portion, a pipe leading from the upper portion of the container for the discharge of 

